This entry is adapted (unrolled, if you will, and edited slightly) from a thread that I tweeted out yesterday. The tweets might not appear in their correct order, because sometimes my Twitter-fu is not so sharp.
Hypothesis: If the Democrat Party didn't show up for an election, the majority of Texas Democrats would vote either Republican or not at all rather than vote Green. It is based on observations, not on anything quantifiable.
This (Delilah's tweet, embedded above) got me in a hypothetical frame of mind: Suppose the Democratic Party of Texas, having nominated a string of "dude, really?" candidates for governor since the 1990s, sees the futility & decides not to waste time & money.
So, in this hypothetical situation, with the Dems sitting it out, the race comes down to Gregg Abbott (or possibly Allen West), a Green, a Libertarian, and a scattering of independents or write-ins. How would the vote go among self-identified Democrats? The Green nominee could be Delilah, or it could be a Green with a proven track record in politics and statewide name recognition. Let's go with the latter for now. My bet is that more Texas Democrats would vote for the Republican nominee—the devil they know—than for the Green. Some Dems would vote Libertarian, some would write in their dream candidate, and quite a few (probably the majority) wouldn't vote in that race at all. This is my conclusion based on (1) living here a long time & (2) my own race for Harris County Judge in 2014. In 2014, more Harris County residents undervoted the County Judge race than voted for me. This was due mostly to one-punch, straight-ticket voting, which is now a thing of the past. (I hope it stays in the past.) Granted, Ed Emmett was a moderate conservative and quite popular among Houston-area Democrats, while Abbott is not. However, for all the talk about how Greens and Democrats are (supposedly) ideologically similar, Dems will dig in their heels & not vote Green even when their favorite Dem office-holders behave and legislate like the Republicans they claim to despise. The Green Party represents a bigger threat to them than the GOP. To me, this is both deeply troubling and...amazingly exciting. Ooooh, the power! An Additional Thought That Wasn't Part of the Twitter Thread It's important to note that voting patterns at the state level differ from the federal level: That whole phenomenon, just as there are differences between voting for Congressional seats and voting for president. It's not uncommon for voters to pick, say, a Democrat to represent them in the US House (especially an incumbent Democrat) but pick the Republican presidential candidate, or vice versa. My own pattern is that I'm willing to vote for Democrats for State Legislature and county government, but not for POTUS, Congress, or state executive offices. For the latter group, if there's a Green, I'll vote Green; otherwise, Libertarian (if the Libertarian is not demonstrably an asshole) or abstain. I may not always agree with Borris Miles or Shawn Thierry, but I'll vote for them—not that they need my help, being in absurdly State Senate and State House districts, respectively. First, I would like to apologize again for my lack of posts recently. Second, I would like to apologize for my frequent apologies regarding inability to spend quality time on this blog. Suffice to say, I've been busy scratching out a living sufficient to keep Kayleen and me housed, fed, and current on bills.
My circumstances may change for the better soon, but it is too early to discuss those changes in detail, nor to say what impact they will have on my blogging habits. Onward to the main topic now. ***** Green Party Houston is ready to get back to the business of providing a group with whom to Be Green in the Houston Metro area. That area includes Harris County, the seven surrounding counties, and communities on the fringes thereof such as Huntsville and the Golden Triangle. A group of us, comprising old-timers and recent arrivals, have had a few online planning meetings in recent months, including a very productive one in February. The new arrivals have come to us via the Twitter group created by Green Maps and congealing around the 2022 gubernatorial campaign of Delilah for Texas, as well as via last summer's Eco-Social gatherings on Zoom. Today I spent some time polishing the GPH section of txgreens.org, including some pages and features not yet published. This section will serve as the hub of the outreach effort to grow the party presence locally. Beyond that, one of the most important pieces of the puzzle will be getting folks to sign up and volunteer. For the time being, you can sign up by indicating your interest via Facebook or Twitter: follow the Twitter account and/or ask to join the Facebook group (it's Private, at least for now). There may be a GPH Facebook page in the near future, plus expansion into other corners of the social media universe. This video was supposed to be posted a few days ago; however, due to the recent visits of Tropical Storms Uri and Viola, the dbc household has been without Internet service for the last three days. We were very fortunate not to have lost electrical service, as many of our friends and comrades did. The reduced-water-pressure phenomenon did occur here, owing to neighbors letting their faucets run at a drip to prevent freezing in the plumbing. (It's a Texas thing.) I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Delilah (whose last name we're keeping out of this for now) may be the force around which the Green Party of Texas rallies and gains momentum for 2022. A relative newcomer to GPTX, she has brought fresh energy and a few folks willing to work on the campaign. These folks have come together mostly thanks to the Green Maps Project, and they have begun participating in GPTX business meetings. Delilah is also new to the role of a candidate. As I hoped to capture in this interview, she brings the big-picture vision of the direction that our state and federal policies must take in order to help the people survive and even thrive. She brings a willingness to do what is necessary to raise the funds to make it all happen, and the infectious enthusiasm that will bring in volunteers. The Greens can hope that the vision, the people, and the dollars will combine to work the necessary magic to poll 2% in 2022 and thus maintain ballot access for another ten years. From the Vision Come the People Below is a completely unedited recording of our Zoom interview conducted last Thursday afternoon, 11 February (44 minutes long, give or take). Sorry if it's a little rough around the edges. |
Blogging Sporadically since 2014Here you will find political campaign-related entries, as well as some about my literature, Houston underground arts, peace & justice, urban cycling, soccer, alt-religion, and other topics. Categories
All
Archives
April 2023
|